Theme II - Power and Authority (Absolutism in Europe)
Enlightenment was a time when new ideas were put into practice, particularly in the area of government. Prior to the Enlightenment, most monarchs ruled with an iron fist. It was believed that the state and its citizens existed to serve the monarch. However, during the Enlightenment a new idea began to take root. This idea was that the monarch existed to serve the state and support the citizens. This was a huge shift in thinking which formed the basis of the democratic governments we have today.
Today, we examine a brief sketch of a few of the Absolutist rulers and results of their rule in Europe. With your group you will rotate through the 5 "STATIONS". At each station, you must INDIVIDUALLY read the short summary and then AS A GROUP, answer the accompanying questions on your answer sheet.
on the origins of Absolutism below to answer the questions.
1) What is absolutism?
2) Explain the justification for absolutism referred to as the 'divine right of kings'.
3) List the causes of the rise of Absolutism in Europe.
4) In your opinion, is absolutism a good way to rule? Can you think of a situation where it might be a positive thing?
“Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.Great men are almost always bad men.”
-John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton
Prior to the Enlightenment, monarchs were believed to rule by "divine right" -- God made them kings, and made other people peasants, and no matter where you were in the social hierarchy (ladder), that was where you were SUPPOSED to be -- no one even considered trying to change it, because that would be going against providence (God's will), and no good could come of THAT!
As new ideas about the nature of man, society and government began to spread throughout France and the rest of Europe through thesalons, the Encyclopedie and the writings of the philosophes, monarchs reacted in much the same way as the Church had reacted to the new ideas of the Reformation and the Scientific Revolution: by tightening their grip on power or by trying to "go with the flow". Some seized on Hobbes' idea that the only way to have peace and order was to have Absolute Monarchs, wielding absolute power -- people should be happy to give up some of their personal freedoms if the result was good, right?
Other monarchs rejected this heavy-handed approach, wanting to be seen as "enlightened rulers" -- they might have been born to royalty but still wanted to be seen as civilized, reasonable men and women who were justified in wielding power because they were, well, modern. (Of course being enlightened didn't mean they were ready to give up their power!) They at least paid lip service to the Enlightenment ideals of liberty, the natural rights of man, free speech and so on -- but only to a point!
So who was the "Most Absolute of the Absolute Monarchs"? Who was the "Most Enlightened Despot" ("Despot" is another word for "tyrant", so consider what this common oxymoron implies) . Were they, as Baron Acton suggested, "absolutely corrupt"?
Your task:Imagine that you are a public relations consultant for either Frederick the Great, Catherine the Great or Joseph II.
The monarch that you represent wants to be named "Most Enlightened Despot of the 18th Century". You've all seen election campaign posters, so make one for your "client". Do this online, using Glogster and post to your Gallery page (See your block in the margin to the left) by the beginning of next class. Make sure there are some good solid facts are included. REMEMBER, "the people" (you and your classmates) are going to be using their REASON to make their choices (cast their vote).Allocate no more than 45 minutes to this assignment outside of class.
An example of a contemporary poster
Read ONE of the following articles from ABC-CLIO and take notes for discussion next class on the power each monarch had, and the use they made of it. Were they loved, or hated, by their people? Why?
Go to KIS Secondary Library Log-in to ABC-CLIO World History: The Modern Era Username: kis Password: welcome Then click on the link below each picture and it will take you to the correct page in the ABC-CLIO database.
Your final product will look something like this, well, maybe it shouldn't; this took me about 10 minutes to learn to do. Before you set out to do this, make sure you know what you're going to write. Know that it is a campaign poster so DO NOT pack a lot of information into it. Be succinct. My example of a glogster poster
After you have saved the document, get the embed code and then put that next your name (choose the second largest size) as per the instructions for wiki. GETTING THIS DONE IS AN ENORMOUS CHALLENGE FOR SOME OF YOU.
CASE STUDY: King Louis XIV of France
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"I am the state" King Louis XIV
"I am the state" King Louis XIV
"I am the state" King Louis XIV
HOMEWORK TASK: KEY SKILL - Creating a time line. Do it on Google Doc.
1) Define the term 'Absolute Monarch'in your own words. Make sure that you include the termspower, control & divine right.
2) List the major events of Louis XIV’s reign using a timeline (example below). Use your textbook (pgs 138-143)/online (162-168) to help you. Identify which events on your timeline strengthened the French Monarchy and which events weakened it. Make sure you explainwhyit strengthened/weakened the French Monarchy.
Timeline of Louis XIV's reign <---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------> 1643 - 1715
3) After reading, use the definition you came up with in #1 and explain:
The ways in which Louis XIV fits the description
Any ways in which Louis XIV does not fit the description
To give you an even better idea of just how ABSOLUTE this guy was...LOOK AT HIS HOUSE!
Review the slide presentation below. The important point to comprehend her is the expression, L'etate c'est moi, or "I am the state."
Theme II - Power and Authority (Absolutism in Europe)
Enlightenment was a time when new ideas were put into practice, particularly in the area of government. Prior to the Enlightenment, most monarchs ruled with an iron fist. It was believed that the state and its citizens existed to serve the monarch. However, during the Enlightenment a new idea began to take root. This idea was that the monarch existed to serve the state and support the citizens. This was a huge shift in thinking which formed the basis of the democratic governments we have today.
Today, we examine a brief sketch of a few of the Absolutist rulers and results of their rule in Europe. With your group you will rotate through the 5 "STATIONS". At each station, you must INDIVIDUALLY read the short summary and then AS A GROUP, answer the accompanying questions on your answer sheet.
Here are the rotation questions...
Absolutism (Homework or in-class)
Now let's focus on what we needed to learn from this. Let's discuss and read the brief 1 page
Absolutism Introduction.pages
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1) What is absolutism?
2) Explain the justification for absolutism referred to as the 'divine right of kings'.
3) List the causes of the rise of Absolutism in Europe.
4) In your opinion, is absolutism a good way to rule? Can you think of a situation where it might be a positive thing?
“Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.Great men are almost always bad men.”
-John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton
Prior to the Enlightenment, monarchs were believed to rule by "divine right" -- God made them kings, and made other people peasants, and no matter where you were in the social hierarchy (ladder), that was where you were SUPPOSED to be -- no one even considered trying to change it, because that would be going against providence (God's will), and no good could come of THAT!
As new ideas about the nature of man, society and government began to spread throughout France and the rest of Europe through thesalons, the Encyclopedie and the writings of the philosophes, monarchs reacted in much the same way as the Church had reacted to the new ideas of the Reformation and the Scientific Revolution: by tightening their grip on power or by trying to "go with the flow". Some seized on Hobbes' idea that the only way to have peace and order was to have Absolute Monarchs, wielding absolute power -- people should be happy to give up some of their personal freedoms if the result was good, right?
Other monarchs rejected this heavy-handed approach, wanting to be seen as "enlightened rulers" -- they might have been born to royalty but still wanted to be seen as civilized, reasonable men and women who were justified in wielding power because they were, well, modern. (Of course being enlightened didn't mean they were ready to give up their power!) They at least paid lip service to the Enlightenment ideals of liberty, the natural rights of man, free speech and so on -- but only to a point!
So who was the "Most Absolute of the Absolute Monarchs"? Who was the "Most Enlightened Despot" ("Despot" is another word for "tyrant", so consider what this common oxymoron implies) . Were they, as Baron Acton suggested, "absolutely corrupt"?
Your task: Imagine that you are a public relations consultant for either Frederick the Great, Catherine the Great or Joseph II.
The monarch that you represent wants to be named "Most Enlightened Despot of the 18th Century". You've all seen election campaign posters, so make one for your "client". Do this online, using Glogster and post to your Gallery page (See your block in the margin to the left) by the beginning of next class. Make sure there are some good solid facts are included. REMEMBER, "the people" (you and your classmates) are going to be using their REASON to make their choices (cast their vote). Allocate no more than 45 minutes to this assignment outside of class.An example of a contemporary poster
Read ONE of the following articles from ABC-CLIO and take notes for discussion next class on the power each monarch had, and the use they made of it. Were they loved, or hated, by their people? Why?
Go to KIS Secondary Library
Log-in to ABC-CLIO World History: The Modern Era
Username: kis
Password: welcome
Then click on the link below each picture and it will take you to the correct page in the ABC-CLIO database.
Catherine II The Great ABC-CLIO Article
Frederick II The Great ABC-CLIO Article
Joseph II ABC-CLIO Article
Your final product will look something like this, well, maybe it shouldn't; this took me about 10 minutes to learn to do. Before you set out to do this, make sure you know what you're going to write. Know that it is a campaign poster so DO NOT pack a lot of information into it. Be succinct. My example of a glogster poster
After you have saved the document, get the embed code and then put that next your name (choose the second largest size) as per the instructions for wiki. GETTING THIS DONE IS AN ENORMOUS CHALLENGE FOR SOME OF YOU.
CASE STUDY: King Louis XIV of France
||
HOMEWORK TASK: KEY SKILL - Creating a time line. Do it on Google Doc.
1) Define the term 'Absolute Monarch' in your own words . Make sure that you include the terms power, control & divine right.
2) List the major events of Louis XIV’s reign using a timeline (example below). Use your textbook (pgs 138-143)/online (162-168) to help you. Identify which events on your timeline strengthened the French Monarchy and which events weakened it. Make sure you explain why it strengthened/weakened the French Monarchy.
Timeline of Louis XIV's reign
<--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->
1643 - 1715
3) After reading, use the definition you came up with in #1 and explain:
To give you an even better idea of just how ABSOLUTE this guy was...LOOK AT HIS HOUSE!
Review the slide presentation below. The important point to comprehend her is the expression, L'etate c'est moi, or "I am the state."